I have recently shared some music from either singles or albums currently in the UK charts, and as these seem to have been well received I thought I’d do it again. But this time with a bit of a difference. The current UK Top 100 Albums Chart contains thirty one compilation ‘best of’ records. I think I could play something from sixteen of these – sorry, Mariah, not you – and I’ve chosen a selection of six for you today. I have probably played most of them before but they are all great, so why not go round again?

My first selection, to get us off to a rousing start, is from the album currently at #14: Time Flies – 1994-2009, which is a collection of the best of Oasis. This is one of my favourites:

Like many compilations – and some regular records – this one has had a long time in our charts. It has enjoyed three weeks at #1 since it was first released in June 2010, and has clocked up (see what I did there?) a total of 650 weeks in the listings, 477 of those in its current run, which has included two of those chart-topping weeks. Some Might Say was originally on their album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? which was released in October 1995, went to #1 in the UK and several other countries, made #4 in the US, and has sold 22m copies worldwide, 5.5m of those in the US and 5.4m in the UK. This was the first single taken from the album, and it also went to #1 in the UK. That album is also in the current chart, at #22, on a current run of 475 consecutive weeks out of a total of 737. Some records just keep selling!

My next selection is from the current #3:

The album is 50 Years – Don’t Stop, which was released in November 2018 to celebrate fifty years of what began as Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac. Its current placing equals its highest, though it has also been a regular, with a total of 379 weeks so far: an ever present since it first came out. This is, in its full incarnation, a triple album of fifty tracks, spanning the band’s full career. The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown) was originally released as a single in May 1970, peaking at #10 in the UK Charts, and was the last release from the band before Peter Green left. I bought the record back then, and delighted in playing it for my Mum – she had bought their dreamy instrumental UK #1 Albatross, and I loved the way the guitars on this made her jump!

This next one is from another album which has taken up residency in out Albums Chart:

Bob Marley, with Three Little Birds, a track on his Legend compilation. Presumably for copyright reasons that video isn’t available in Caribbean countries, so I offer my apologies to anyone from there – but it is such a charming animation that I just had to play it! Legend first entered the charts in May 1984, and has to date amassed stays totalling 1229 weeks, including the current one of 321 weeks. An appropriately named album, I think. Three Little Birds was on Bob’s Exodus album, released in June 1977, which reached #8 in the UK and #20 in the US. This track was released as a single in 1980, and got to #17 in the UK.

The next album hasn’t spent quite as long in the charts as the last one, but is still pretty respectable at 494 weeks. A track from this week’s #39 album:

The Red Hot Chili Peppers, of course, with Californication. The compilation is called simply Greatest Hits, and has been in the Album Charts on and off since it first appeared in November 2003. It hasn’t hit the heights in the way that others have, peaking at #4 in its first week, but has been a steady seller, and is currently enjoying a run of 67 weeks going back to November 2024. This was originally the title track of the band’s seventh album, which was released in and got Ito #1 in both Australia and New Zealand, #2 in several countries including Canada, #3 in the US and #5 in the UK. It sold more than 8m in the US and 1.5m in the UK and is one of their most successful. The compilation has also sold well, with 2m in the US and 2.1m in the UK. I bought both.

I’m dedicating this next tune to my lovely friend Nancy. It is her birthday tomorrow and I’m hoping that her recent hand operation has healed sufficiently to permit her to raise a celebratory glass or two. She loves this band, and this one was written by her favourite band member. This is the reworked version, from the Love album, which lives up to that title:

The Beatles released the double album compilation 1967-1970 (aka The Blue Album) in April 1973, peaking at #1 in the US and #2 in the UK. It was re-released on CD in September 1993, and sadly the UK Official Charts Company only details that release, giving it a total of 150 weeks and a peak of #2 in November 2023. It has returned with a vengeance, though, and is currently at #45: if it is still in the chart next week it will have completed a full year this time around. In total, it has sold 8.5m in the US and 1.2m in the UK. As I’m sure you know the song was first on another double album, The Beatles (aka The White Album), which was released in November 1968, just in time for my parents to buy it for me as a Christmas present. It has sold more than 12m in the US, 800,000 in Canada and 600,000 in the UK.

I’m closing today with another of my favourites, both the song and the video, and this is a return appearance for both:

The Killers first released Read My Mind on Sam’s Town, their second album, in September 2006, and it actually outsold the US here: 1.5m in the UK against 1.3m in the US. One of my daughters saw them in concert at the Royal Albert Hall a little later and said they were fantastic – sadly I never saw them. The song has featured on all four of their compilation albums including the most recent, Rebel Diamonds, which came out in December 2023 and reached #1 here in the UK. It has spent a total of 86 weeks in our Albums Chart, and is currently hanging on in there at #84, but this was a fun way to round off today’s tunes – as indeed it was the last time I played it!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this dip into the compilations in this week’s UK Albums Charts. “Some Might Say” that older music is better than the current stuff – who am I to comment, but the longevity of many of these albums speaks volumes, doesn’t it.

See you again for Song Lyric Sunday, I trust 🎶